Stir-fried vegetables are a popular dish in family meals, especially during the winter or cool days. However, many people often encounter problems when stir-frying vegetables, such as the vegetables becoming soft, dull, and not green and crunchy. Chefs explain that this is because the cook has made mistakes in the steps of stir-frying vegetables, resulting in the vegetables not being fresh, crunchy, and visually appealing like those in restaurants. Normally, when buying vegetables, women will pick and wash them before stir-frying them directly in the pot, but this is incorrect. Chefs suggest that in order to make stir-fried vegetables crispy and green like those in restaurants, do not forget the following important steps.
Soak the vegetables
However, before soaking the vegetables, it is also very important to choose fresh vegetables for stir-frying. To keep the vegetables always green and crunchy, it is necessary to choose fresh and green vegetables, preferably just picked. Fresh vegetables always have the freshest, crunchiest, most flavorful, and greenest taste when stir-fried. If you choose withered vegetables, they will definitely not be crispy, and even the color of the vegetables after stir-frying will fade and become dull.
Note that you should cut/slice the vegetables into bite-sized pieces for easier stir-frying and a shorter cooking time. We understand that vegetables should not be stir-fried for too long because prolonged stir-frying will cause them to lose their green color and become soft and mushy. When you cut the vegetables into smaller pieces, the stir-frying time is shorter, so the vegetables always have a beautiful green color and a more flavorful taste.
After choosing the vegetables to buy, clean them and prepare them for soaking. Dissolve a little salt in water or add lemon juice and water to a bowl, then soak the vegetables in it. This helps to eliminate certain bacteria on the vegetables. When stir-frying, the vegetables that have been soaked in salted water will effectively prevent oxidation and reduce the loss of nutrients and trace elements in the vegetables. Vegetables contain a lot of chlorophyll, so if they are oxidized, they will turn black.
Blanch the vegetables before stir-frying
There are many types of green vegetables that contain a certain amount of oxalic acid, so before eating them, we must blanch them. First, boil water, add a little salt to the water, then put the green vegetables directly into the boiling water. In the pot, start blanching the water for 20 seconds, then immediately remove the green vegetables with a slotted spoon. Do not blanch for too long as it will cause the loss of vitamins in the vegetables.
After these 2 steps, you can stir-fry the vegetables directly. Some people are careful and after removing the vegetables, they put them in a bowl of cold water to make them crispy and greener. This can also be done according to your preference.
Additionally, pay attention to the timing of adding salt or spices. Some people often add salt (or soup powder) immediately after frying the onions/garlic or heating the cooking oil, and then immediately add the vegetables. But this actually causes the water in the vegetables to be released too soon, making the vegetables soft and not green. Therefore, you should only add salt when the vegetables are almost cooked.
According to Phunuvietnam
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